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New to needlepoint? This page will provide you with resources for getting
started. You will find links to needlepoint books, tutorials and other useful
sites.
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What is the difference between needlepoint,
cross-stitch, and tapestry?
•
What is special about Primavera needlepoint kits?
•
Are there any online tutorials?
Needlepoint is made by stitching designs
onto an open weave canvas using predominantly diagonal ('tent') stitches. The
most basic needlepoint stitch for decorative work is Half Cross Stitch
where the reverse side has short, vertical lines, which uses less thread. Other
common stitches are
Continental and Basket weave. There are
hundreds of other stitches!
Needlepoint is normally worked with woolen yarn.
Cross-stitch is similar to needlepoint but uses 'X' shaped
stitches. Typically the base material is made from blocks of thread woven
together (block weave), leaving obvious holes for stitching. This makes for a
larger weave than the finer canvases and linen used in needlepoint. Cross-stitch
is normally worked with cotton yarn.
Tapestry. Traditionally tapestry is a design woven into the
fabric itself as it is created on the loom rather than by stitching designs onto
an open weave canvas. However, 'tapestry' has also come to mean needlepoint,
especially in the U.K. and Europe. The famous
Bayeux Tapestry is actually needlepoint!
And more...
There is an excellent
glossary of needlecraft terms at Sew Exciting, an English needlecraft site.
And the American Needlepoint
Guild has a definition and many lovely examples.
What is special about Primavera
needlepoint kits?
Please see our Product Questions page.
Here are some useful ones:
(NOTE: they all use charts rather than printed canvas)
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Needlepoint
Carpet Tutorial
has some excellent close-up photo examples of how to stitch, block and finish a
piece.
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Beginning
Needlepoint by Lois Caron has very good illustrations of how to stitch
irregular shapes.
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One-Hour Needlepoint Course
is a brief overview, using Basketweave and Continental stitches.
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A Guide to Needlepoint
is thorough, but has cruder illustrations. It demonstrates Basket weave and
Continental stitches.
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Counted Cross
Stitch Tutorial
is an excellent tutorial, with extremely clear illustrations. Much of it is
applicable to needlepoint as well.
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About.com has a section devoted to
Needlepoint Instruction.
• The American Needlepoint Guild has a
Questions About Stitching page.
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